The tour has been going pretty well for the band. They've travelled around and have been to many great places. Where they are at the moment is Lexington, Kentucky. They're at an autograph session at the moment for young kids.
"Here you go." Lucy said as she handed a kid an autographed CD.
"Looking good, guys." Levy said. "Once we're done here, we've got that big show tomorrow."
"Things are going well." Natsu said.
"You can say that again. We've been around the country and have seen many great sights and more." Erza said.
"Hey, take over for me." Lucy said as she stood up. "I'm just going to get some water."
"I got you." Gray said as he took over for her. Lucy walked her way to a vending machine. She dug around her bag for some money, but she accidentally walked into a young girl and knocked her down and they dropped both of their bags.
"Oh my gosh! I am so sorry!" Lucy said as she helped her up.
"It's okay. I'm pretty clumsy." The young girl said. Lucy helped her up and they were gathering their stuff together until the girl realized who she was. "Wait a minute. You're Lucy Heartfilia! You're in Fairy Tale!"
"Yeah, I am." Lucy said. "Are you here for an autograph like all the other kids.
"Not really. I only came to get a look. The line's so long and I don't really have the time to wait. My name is Winter."
"Well, it's nice to meet you." Lucy said.
"I really should get going." Winter said.
"Well, I could give you a quick autograph." Lucy said.
"No thanks. I really should get going." Winter said and took off. Lucy saw her off, but she realized something. She realized that she grabbed winter's small bag by mistake and Winter must have taken hers by mistake.
"Winter, wait!" Lucy called as she tried to go after her, but she saw Winter was already gone. Since she had no idea where Winter went, she went back to the others for help. "Guys, I got a small problem."
"What's wrong?" Natsu asked.
"I bumped into this girl and we switched bags by mistake." Lucy said. "She took mine without even realizing it. I've got to get it back. My wallet and a few other things I need are in there."
"No worries. I'll help. You guys can take care of things here for a while, can't you?" Natsu said.
"No problem." Gajeel said.
"Gajeel's right. We can handle some kids." Erza said.
"Thanks." Lucy said as she and Natsu left.
"Okay. Who's next?" Gray asked.
"Where's Natsu and Lucy?" A little boy asked.
"They had a problem to go solve, but we're here." Erza said. With Natsu and Lucy gone, things got spookily quiet. It was leaving an unsettling feeling with the rest of the band. As for Natsu and Lucy, they left the building to try and find Winter, but there was still no sign of her. The problem is that they have no idea where she could have even gone and Lucy just realized that.
"Wait. How are we going to find her? Lexington is huge." Lucy said. "She could be anywhere."
"Open her purse. Maybe there's something in there that could give us a clue." Natsu said. Lucy didn't like that she had to go through someone else's purse.
"I guess we don't really have a choice." Lucy said. She opened the purse and looked around for anything that might tell them where they could find Winter. "What's this?" She pulled out a piece of paper and saw there was some writing on it. "183 Boulevard Drive. That must be where she lives."
"Great." Natsu said as he pulled out the map on his phone and put the address in. "Got it. Let's go." As soon as Natsu got the address, he and Lucy hurried to where it was.
...
Natsu and Lucy
Natsu and Lucy hurried over to Boulevard Drive. However, they noticed something strange when they got there. There wasn't really any houses. It was a pretty open street.
"Are you sure this is the right place?" Lucy said. "This doesn't look like a street where people live."
"This is what my phone says." Natsu said. "I didn't put it in wrong. Are you sure read the address right?"
"Yeah, I'm sure." Lucy said.
"Well, according to my phone, what we're looking for should be just up ahead." Natsu said.
"Look." Lucy said. They looked ahead and spotted an RV parked on the street. Lucy grabbed Natsu and they hid behind some bushes.
"Why are we hiding?" Natsu asked.
"I want to see something first. I'm getting a bad feeling about this." Lucy said.
"Maybe we really do have the wrong place. Do you even see that girl anywhere?" Natsu asked.
"There she is." Lucy said as they saw her coming. They saw her open the door and went inside. This confirmed what Lucy was thinking.
"I think she really does live here." Lucy said. She and Natsu didn't like the looks of this. Lucy came out of hiding and walked over. She didn't like this, but she had to talk to Winter. Natsu followed after her as she knocked on the door and Winter opened it.
"Lucy?!" Winter said.
"Hi, Winter. You took my bad by accident." Lucy said as she handed Winter's bag back.
"I'm sorry. I didn't realize it until I put it down." Winter said as she hurried back inside and grabbed it with them switching back. "I'm sorry."
"It's fine." Lucy said.
"Winter, do you live here? What's going on here?" Natsu asked.
"It's nothing." Winter said, but it seemed like she was ashamed to talk about it.
"Winter, we're just curious. If it bothers you to talk about it, we can just go." Lucy said as she didn't want to upset the little girl.
"Winter, is everything okay?" They looked to the door and saw her mother show herself. "Hello. What's going on here?"
"Winter and I switched bags by mistake. I came to get mine back." Lucy said.
"If you don't mind, can we talk to you about what's going on here?" Natsu asked.
"Natsu! Maybe they don't want to talk about it and we need to respect that." Lucy said.
"It's fine. Come on in." Winter's mother said and invited them to come inside. It was a bit of a tight fit for them, but they made it worked. Natsu and Lucy had a seat as Winter's mother gave them some milk. "I take it that you were both surprised to see us live here. Not what you were expecting, was it?"
"Well, we weren't really expecting anything." Lucy said. "It was just a surprise to see Winter come here. We saw the address in her bag and just came here."
"That's just to help Winter remind her what street we're on." Winter's mother said. "We keep moving from one street to the next because we can't stay for very long. You see, my husband lost his job and because of that, we weren't able to make rent on our apartment. Luckily, we were able to gather enough money to get this. So at least we have a roof over our heads."
"That must be why Winter didn't want an autograph." Lucy whispered to Natsu. "They must be saving money. Those who did get an autograph had to pay."
"They didn't pay that much." Natsu said.
"I know that, but every little bit must count for something." Lucy said.
"We're sorry you went through that." Natsu said.
"It's quite fine." Winter's mother said. "I still have my job and my husband is doing everything he can to get a new job so we can get a new place."
"But how come Winter seemed bashful about talking about it?" Natsu asked. "This really isn't anything to be ashamed of."
"I know, but she probably doesn't want people to pity us." Winter's mother said. "There are some people who aren't as fortunate as we are. They're in worse conditions, but at the same time, they don't want to be pitied. They wanted to be treated as the same as everyone and just won't admit to help when it seems like they need it."
"I don't get it. How come people wouldn't ask for help when it's clear they need it?" Natsu asked.
"They don't want people feeling sorry for them." Lucy said. "Some people just won't admit that they're in pain and think they're being strong."
"It could be any reason. People are just stubborn, but you don't need to concern yourself with us. We're holding out pretty well." Winter's mother said, but both of them didn't really feel any better. Once things were finished there, Natsu and Lucy were on their way.
"I still feel so bad for them. I wish there was something we could to help." Lucy said.
"Maybe, but they do appear to be doing fine." Natsu said. "After all, we're sleeping in a bus and moving around a lot."
"That's not the same, Natsu." Lucy said. "We stay in hotels and we'll be heading back to California soon, where we do have homes."
"I guess you're right." Natsu said. They didn't like seeing their family like this, but Natsu came up with an idea. "Maybe there is one thing we can do."
...
The Band
"Hey, guys!" Natsu said as he and Lucy made it back to their tour bus, but they saw their friends didn't look so good. "What happened? Was there a stampede or something?"
"A stampede of children!" Gray said.
"As soon as you two left, those kids went crazy." Erza said.
"They weren't happy you left. What? Are we not good enough for them?" Gajeel said. Natsu and Lucy did not like the looks of this, but they had other problems to work on.
"Levy, we need your help with something. Could we make a change to our next concert?" Natsu said. Levy didn't know what he was talking about, but as soon as they explained their plan, they were all on board.
...
The Concert
"Natsu, this seems like a good idea, but are you sure it's okay?" Lucy asked. "Winter and her mother seemed like they didn't want help. They didn't want people to feel pity or sorry for them."
"I get that, but this can help people that need it more." Natsu said. Lucy could see the logic in that and went with it. She took her place and the curtain rose. "Hello, Lexington! I just want to say one thing! All the money we're making here is going straight to help the homeless! So let's rock and donate!" The crowd cheered and the band started playing a new song that won't keep people down.
(Natsu)
So I fall
So I'm down
That's not gonna stop me
I feel good
I look around
How did I get here?
Where am I"
I'm in a...situation
How come...it's like this?
This wasn't part of the plan
I know it seems bad
I know it looks bad
That's not gonna stop me
Nothing's going to keep me down
(All)
So I fall
So I'm down
That's not gonna stop me
I feel good
So I fall down
I'll pick myself up
I feel good
(Natsu)
It might seem bad
It might be hard
But I'm not gonna be sad
You can't...keep me down
Being here...I don't mind
Nothing's gonna...keep me down
It might be a mess
But I'll still do my best
Nothing will keep me down
(All)
So I fall
So I'm down
That's not gonna stop me
I feel good
So I'll fall down
I'll pick myself up
I feel good
So I fall
So I'm down
That's not gonna stop me
I feel good
So I'll fall down
I'll pick myself up
I feel good
(guitar solo)
So I fall
So I'm down
That's not gonna stop me
I feel good
So I'll fall down
I'll pick myself up
I feel good
So I fall
So I'm down
That's not gonna stop me
I feel good
So I'll fall down
I'll pick myself up
I feel good
The band was doing well and they were raising a lot of money. It seemed like it was going well with everyone cheering for them. That song lifted some spirits out there as well.
"Nice job! We've already made hundreds and hundreds of dollars!" Levy called out. "It's still climbing!" They're certainly making a lot of money and Lucy was impressed that his idea was working.
"Okay. I'm impressed, Natsu." Lucy said. "That money will surely help some people out."
"I know Winter and her family claim they don't need help, but this is better than nothing." Natsu said. "I just hope she and her family are able to get a stable home."
"Me too, but what you did was amazing." Lucy said. Lucy was real impressed with what Natsu has done that she actually kissed him on the cheek. Natsu wasn't expecting that and now it's hard for him to be down after that.